We’re thrilled to announce the newest members of Patreon’s leadership team: Kathleen Pacini as Chief People Officer and Rory Brown as Chief Brand Officer. Kathleen and Rory bring with them decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge that will be instrumental in guiding our team as we explore new ways for creators around the world to build sustainable businesses doing what they love, powered directly by their communities.

At Patreon, our mission is to fund the creative class, and we’re thrilled to have Kathleen and Rory on board to help us achieve that goal. Please join us in welcoming them to the Patreon family!

Here’s what Kathleen and Rory had to say about their new roles:

Kathleen, tell us about yourself.

I’ve been working in HR/People for 15 years, most recently leading the Global HR Business Partner and Talent & Learning Teams at Twitter. I am a big believer that everyone can continue to learn and grow their whole lives, and I love that I’ve found a career that lets me participate in people’s growth.

I am a very proud mom of two boys and feel strongly about sharing the challenges and joy that comes from finding balance and fulfillment from both family and work success.

What role/achievement stands out to you from your experience?

I’m extremely proud of creating and launching a Software Engineering Apprentice program for folks typically not represented in tech. Finding new entry points and pathways to success for people that haven’t had a clearly defined path to roles in tech was a great way to include new perspectives and build more inclusive products.

What drew you to Patreon?

The people I met during the interview process and the exec team – everyone is energized by the mission and ready to do big things together. It was clear how everyone wants to partner and help solve big problems – I couldn’t help but feel their excitement!

The opportunity to build – I love getting to break down business opportunities and challenges, and think about how to set the people working on them up for success.

What values are you going to lead with?

People First – a business is only as successful as the people working there and the role of the people team is to build the scaffolding to allow its people to grow and flourish.

Build for everyone – building and iterating on people programs and processes to ensure that Patreon is a place where everyone feels included, is given an equitable set of opportunities to succeed, is excited to come to work, and is able to do their best work.

Take your work, but not yourself, seriously. We have the opportunity to do some very impactful work… but don’t forget to have a little fun along the way!

What’s something most people wouldn’t know about you?

I have a strong desire to be excellent at decorating cakes, and I am absolutely horrible at it no matter how much I practice!

Rory, tell us about yourself.

I love understanding why audiences behave the way they do. I used to obsess over Billboard charts and box office data and sports attendance figures to understand what motivated people or why people gravitate towards certain content and event experiences.

I am a big believer in the power of storytelling. I studied media and was a journalist straight out of college. I’ve transitioned from sports at Bleacher Report to entertainment and then to a parenting-focused company, and every step of the way I’ve had to figure out: “what are the best storytelling experiences to get in front of different types of audiences?”

What role/achievement stands out to you from your experience?

I’m probably most proud of scaling teams and other aspects of companies, big and small. The best example is my tenure at Bleacher Report, where the company was 13 people when I started. 10 years later, in my role as president, I was managing over half of a 450 person company.

What drew you to Patreon?

I love that Patreon was so ahead of the game when it came to investing in making it easier for creators to do what they love – and doing that far before the words “creator economy” became commonplace. And I love that the creator economy space has grown dramatically in recent years… but there’s a lot of growth yet to be had. I think Patreon is going to be front and center in growing the entire category.

What values are you going to lead with?

I believe empathy and efficiency can coexist. I love understanding where employees are coming from and helping them tackle challenges. I love pushing teams to drive results on the right timelines, and I think we can do both in a healthy balance. It’s important to believe in what you do and I love how much people at Patreon care about their roles, their peers, and creators so deeply.

What’s something most people wouldn’t know about you?

I think people know I’m measured, even-keeled, and have a dry sense of humor. But when it comes to competing, I’m insanely competitive and that all goes out the window. Just play ping pong with me.